Edible containers that are sold to contain frozen confections, such as soft ice cream or ice cream served in stores, are typically delivered to the location where the ice cream is sold by a specialized cone manufacturer. These edible containers are manufactured by blending a large amount of water into raw ingredients such as wheat flour, and kneaded to form a dough. The dough is then baked on a high-temperature heating plate, formed into the shape of cones (e.g. waffle cones) and packaged for transport. However, as waffle cones are characteristically extremely crispy, and since they tend to break easily as a result of being susceptible to impact, there are numerous difficulties encountered in their handling both during baking as well as after baking until they are delivered to ice cream stores and other retail points of use.
In order to eliminate these various problems, a method for producing an edible container has been disclosed in JP Pat. Laid-open No. 63-216425 developed by the present applicant is disclosed. The disclosed method includes of producing an edible container by mixing and kneading raw ingredients, such as wheat flour, with water to form a dough which is then spread out on a heating plate. The kneaded dough is then spread out onto the first heating plate and is sandwiched between another heating plate, so as to alphatize the flour starch in the kneaded dough. The moisture in the kneaded dough is adequately evaporated by heating and drying to an extent to which moisture is also removed. The sheet-like dough heated and dried in the previous process steps is then cooled while in the dry state and stored. A final heating process step may then be practiced wherein the dried and stored product is heated in advance to an extent that it is softened and, thereafter molded in such a softened state to the desired shape.
The molded sheet that has been heated and dried in the above-mentioned prior art demonstrates properties like those indicated in attached Tables 1 and 2 depending on differences in the heating and drying conditions as well as the amount of residual moisture.
As can be seen from the tables, molded sheet 5A having a residual moisture of 10-12% and molded sheet 5B having a residual moisture of roughly 3% have both advantages and disadvantages that cannot be mutually compensated for in terms of releasability, handling ease and final heating time.
In addition, although a molded sheet having a residual moisture content of 6-8% was made by heating for roughly 150 seconds at a temperature of 120.degree. in order to solve these problems, since bonding between the starch matrix and water (water addition) does not occur sufficiently at this temperature, the problems were unable to be eliminated as the resulting molded sheet was feeble, did not release easily from the heating plate and was slightly susceptible to tearing. Based on these results, unless a product that is crispy when eaten, or in other words, a thin molded sheet that is porous and lightweight, is not formed into a baked food product consisting primarily of starch in which the starch matrix is completely baked at a temperature of 180.degree. C. or higher, the temperature of the oil component remains at or above its boiling point, and the sugar component is caramelized to a certain degree giving the product a brown tint, it will be difficult to remove the baked product from the baking plate without tearing. Even if, for example, the baked product is able to be removed from the baking plate, since it has not been heat-treated for the purpose of stabilization as a food product, it has several problems including deterioration of the starch component and oxidation of the oil component.
In addition, 30-40% of the moisture of molded sheet 5A having a residual moisture content of 10-12% of the above-mentioned Table 1 consists of bound water of a matrix consisting primarily of starch, and water in solution that forms a sugar solution by binding with sugar. The remainder is believed to be present in the form of free water. Thus, phase transformation resulting from a change in the temperature of the moisture content for the free water portion of the moisture remaining in the matrix is used for the heat energy for the final heating process of molded sheet 5A.
In other words, it is believed that the proportion of the required energy consumed for use in bond dissociation in the case of the bonded water of the starch matrix and the water in solution in which sugar and other water soluble substances are dissolved (chemical water), is much greater in comparison to that consumed for simple phase change of the free water.
Consequently, a heating time of at least 60 seconds at 210.degree. C. is required in the heating process. In particular, in the case of stores in which this final heating is performed in front of the customer, although efforts are made to increase this final heating temperature or shorten the heating time, when the finished product is sold in the state in which the product contains large amounts of bound water and chemical water, the finished product lacks both the taste and flavor of a food product.
In addition, molded sheet 5B, wherein the dough is heated at 180.degree. C. in advance for roughly 90 seconds to bring the residual moisture content to roughly 3%, becomes brittle when cooled while also becoming susceptible to cracking and falling apart. As such, it is difficult to handle.
On the contrary, the majority of the free water is evaporated and dispersed naturally leaving the moisture bound in the starch matrix and a considerable portion of the chemical water in which sugar and other water soluble substances are dissolved. Even if it were to be reabsorbed, that water would only be in the form of simple humidity within the molded product, or in other words, be only a small amount of free water. Since this would never become bound water, this moisture can be easily dispersed by heating for a short period of time thereby restoring the molded product to its original state without loss of taste or flavor.